Bulldog Bulletin for 8/19/24

Hello Bulldog Families,

We are moving quickly towards the start of the 2024-25 school year! Over the last few weeks, we have been carefully planning our various beginning-of-year events for students and families, and I'm excited to now share that information with you.

Within this newsletter you will find information that is separated into four main categories:

1. Upcoming Dates and Events
2. Kindergarten Information--For rising kindergarten families.
3. Grades 1-5 Information--For 1st-5th Grade families.
4. General School Information--Information that everyone should read.

Please note at the top you can click translate to any language that you need.

There was an error last week. The time for meet the teacher is 5:30-6:30

Kindergarten Staggered Entry:

All Kindergarten students will participate in staggered entry. This means they will only attend school on one day during the first week of school between August 28th and August 30th. Your child's assigned date for staggered entry date is based on last name:

Tuesday, August 27th- Last Names A thru K

Wednesday, August 28th- Last Names L thru R

Thursday, August 29th- Last Names S thru Z

Friday, August 30th- Kindergarten Open House 4:30-6:00pm

Monday, September 2nd- No SCHOOL

Tuesday, September 3rd- First Day for ALL Kindergarteners

Kindergarten Class Lists:

Class lists will be finalized once we have completed Staggered Entry. Teachers will call you on Friday, August 30th, to introduce themselves before the evening of Meet the Teacher. As a gentle reminder, we do not accept parent requests for specific teachers.

Vaccination/Health Forms:

Per state law, we are required to collect vaccination records and student health forms for each kindergarten student. Student vaccine records and health forms are due no later than the first day of school. Forms may be scanned and emailed to Cecilia Sanchez at csanchezguerrero@wcpss.net or they can be dropped off directly at the school.

Class Lists:

1st-5th grade class lists will be finalized by Thursday, August 22nd and classroom teachers will send a welcome email to each family on his/her classroom roster. Be advised: I do not accept requests for specific teachers. Once published, class lists are considered final and I will not accept requests for changes.

1st-5th Grade Meet the Teacher:

Meet the Teacher for students in 1st-5th grade will be held on Friday, August 23rd from 5:30-6:30 pm. This is a floating event but will end at 6:30.

School Devices

If your student left WCPSS issued device at school it will be in their new classroom when they return. If students took the device home they need to return the device with the charger during Meet the Teacher. Please make sure the device is cleaned and prepared to return. As a reminder student devices that are lost are not replaced and students are placed on day use only.

Addresses, Custody Agreements and Phone Numbers

​​If you have had a change or update in address, email address, custody paperwork, or phone number please contact Cecilia Sanchez via email csanchezguerrero@wcpss.net at or call the school at 919-460-3443. It is imperative that these updated are communicated to Ms. Sanchez prior to the start of the 24-25 school as this impacts our ability to effectively support our community.

Talking Points

​​TalkingPoints allows teachers to communicate with parents via text messages easily - including parents who don't speak English. TalkingPoints is a two-way multi-lingual platform that allows teachers and parents to communicate in over 100 languages. Teachers use a web or mobile application to send messages to parents who receive them in their home languages as text messages or through the parent mobile app. Parents can reply in their own languages because TalkingPoints will automatically translate it to English for teachers. The software will sync directly to parent contact information in PowerSchool. Please sign up here: Talking Points

Email

Emailing the teacher is another way to communicate. Please understand that teacher have 48 hours to respond but try to respond in 24 hours. They do not check email, during instruction, after school hours, on the weekend, or during breaks.

Smore

Mrs. Nelson will send a weekly Smore communication along side the PTA. Bi-weekly K-5 grade level teams will send Smore newsletters to families. This will include upcoming events, classroom activities, field trip details, and more.

Tuesday Folders

Teachers will send home Tuesday Folders weekly with student worker, flyers, and information. We are asking all families to return Tuesday Folders on Wednesdays or the following school day.

**Please let your teacher know what language you need materials sent home in.

2024-25 Transportation Requests:

If you are not currently registered for transportation but would like service next school year, register for service immediately. Please only request service if you plan for your student to be a regular bus rider. Students who don’t ride consistently will be removed from bus rosters. To register, go to www.wcpss.net/busrider.

Bus routes for traditional calendar students will be posted online (https://www.wcpss.net/Page/174) on August 16th. Once posted, families should confirm the location of their student’s bus stop. Bus stops change each year based on actual ridership.

A reminder that Briarcliff does not determine bus stop locations, families must make a request through transportation using this link.

Yellow Bus Delay Notification System:

This new notification system will send email and text notifications when buses are delayed, or when a bus is unavailable to pick up students. More information including parent communication and sign up instructions can be found here.

Carpool:

Please save your old carpool tags! Students will use the same tags they had last year. If you have a kindergartner coming they will use the same number assigned to their sibling last year. If you are new to Briarcliff and will be using carpool regularly tags may be picked up in the cafeteria during our Meet the Teacher event on August 23rd. Please remember, carpool tags are not required for families who only use carpool for morning drop-off.

You must get in the carpool line. We only dismiss carpoolers through the line. You must also get in the carpool line for morning drop off. No Exceptions can be made.

Carpool begins at 8:45. Students will be marked late at 9:15. Students must be signed in by an adult in the office at 9:15. You can NOT just drop off if you are late!

For afternoon pick up you must be in the carpool line no later than 4:05. Parents who are consistently late will be asked to put their student on the assigned bus in order to allow staff close the building by 4:05pm.

Walker Tags

Only students assigned by WCPSS can be walkers. Students walking can NOT be picked up by a car on Pond Street. You will be told to get in carpool if you try parking on Pond Street. This is a huge safety hazard.

Changes to AfternoonTransportation

If your child requires a change to PM transportation this must be done prior to 1:00pm. Families must 1-call the office, 2-send a Talking Points message and 3-email. This allows the front office staff ample time to ensure that this change has been communicated to both students and staff.

If you need to pick up your student early from school it must be done by 3:15. There are no exceptions. At 3:15 families will be instructed to go through carpool. This allows us to ensure safety as we approach the end of our instructional day.

Meal prices for the 2024-25 school are noted below.

• Breakfast Cost--$1.75
• Lunch Cost--$3.50

Pre-Pay for Meals Online:

The easiest way to pay for school meals is to create an online account at www.MySchoolBucks.com. Please remember, you will need your child's student ID number to register. Once registered, parents may load money, set spending limits, and set-up auto-loading so that your child never runs out of lunch money.

Free/Reduced Price Meal Application:

If your family is in need of meal assistance, I strongly encourage you to complete and submit an application for Free/Reduced Cost Meals. Families in need of meal assistance must reapply every school year if they are interested in receiving meal benefits. Applications may be submitted online at https://www.wcpss.net/Page/1849. Paper copies are also available at the school.

Please remember that students cannot receive medication (prescription or over-the-counter) at school without a signed 1702 form. This includes sun screen. The 1702 form is linked below and must be signed by a licensed medical doctor before being submitted to the school.

• Form 1702--Parent's Request and Physician's Order Form for Medication

All prescription medication must be in original packaging with a pharmacy label. OTC medications must be in the original packaging and labeled with the student's name. Medications may be dropped off at school at our Meet the Teacher event in August.

Before and after-school care will be available for students onsite at Briarcliff for the 24-25 school year. Applications and registration information for the before and after-school care programs can be found on our website at: https://www.wcpss.net/domain/11295.

School Supplies are being provide by the school. Below there is a small list of materials they may need for their classroom. Students will need to have a backpack, water bottle, and lunch box clearly labeled.

Tennis and Pickleball Classes at Briarcliff are now open for Fall enrollment. Click here for session details.

Every year you are required to reregister to volunteer. We would love to have you help in classrooms, in the media center, on field trips, with clubs and more. To do this you must be registered as a volunteer. Register as a WCPSS volunteer https://www.wcpss.net/Page/55232

Our parent/student handbook (linked below) contains a list of our school-based policies and procedures. Please take several minutes to thoroughly read through the handbook to ensure that you are knowledgeable about our established policies.